Jan Jakub Twardowski (1 June 1915 – 18 January 2006) was a Polish

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

. He was a chief Polish representative of contemporary religious lyrics. He wrote short, simple poems, humorous, which often included

colloquial Colloquialism (also called ''colloquial language'', ''colloquial speech'', ''everyday language'', or ''general parlance'') is the linguistic style used for casual and informal communication. It is the most common form of speech in conversation amo ...

isms. He joined observations of

nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

with

philosophical Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

reflections.

Biography

Jan Twardowski was born on 1 June 1915 in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...

. His parents were Jan Twardowski and Aniela Maria Konderska. Several weeks after his birth, due to the events of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, his family moved to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. After 3 years, they returned to Warsaw. He finished middle school in 1935. In 1932, he began working with the youth newspaper "Kuźnia Młodych" ("Forge of the Young"). He had his own column there, for which he wrote poems, short stories, and interviewed various writers. After middle school, he began studying literature at the Józef Piłsudski University (University of Warsaw). In 1937 he published his first book of poetry. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he took part in various operations organised by the

Armia Krajowa The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...

and fought in the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...

. After the war, he joined a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

and began studying

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at the Warsaw University. He became a priest in 1948. In 1959 he became a provost of the Visitationist Church. His writings were published in a popular Polish Catholic magazine,

Tygodnik Powszechny ''Tygodnik Powszechny'' (, ''The Common Weekly'') is a Polish Roman Catholic weekly magazine, published in Kraków, which focuses on social, cultural and political issues. It was established in 1945 under the auspices of Cardinal Adam Stefan Sap ...

. He gained fame in 1960 after publishing his first poetry book, "Znak Ufności" ("The Sign of Trust"). In 1980 he received the PEN Club and

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was an English poet, soldier, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were b ...

lifetime achievement awards, and, in 1996, the Order Uśmiechu (The Order of the Smile). In 2000, Twardowski won the IKAR prize, and was rewarded with the TOTUS prize a year later. Jan Twardowski died on 18 January 2006 in Warsaw. He was buried within the crypts of the

Temple of Divine Providence The Temple of Divine Providence () and Pantheon of Great Poles (in Polish, Panteon Wielkich Polaków, in southern Warsaw's Wilanów district, is a principal Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic church in Poland. The backstory of its construction ...

on the outskirts of the Polish capital, despite the fact that he wanted to be buried at the Powązki cemetery in Warsaw.

Works

Poetry: *

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

: ''Wiersze,'' ("Verses"); WarsawWeb pages titled "Jan Twardowski" (i
English
an
Polish
), at the Instytut Książki ("Books Institute") website , "Bibliography" sections, retrieved February 28, 2010 *

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

: ''Znaki ufności'', ("Signs of Trust"), Kraków: Znak *

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

: ''Niebieskie okulary'', ("Blue Sunglasses"), Kraków: Znak *

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

: ''Który stwarzasz jagody'' ("Who Made the Blueberry"), Kraków: Wydawnictwo literackie * 1986: ''Nie przyszedłem pana nawracać. Wiersze z lat 1937-1985'' "I Have Not Come to Convert You: Poems From the Years 1937-1985"), Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Archidiecezji Warszawskiej ("Warsaw Archdiocese Publisher") *

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

: ''Tak ludzka'' ("So Human"), Poznań: Księgarnia św. Wojciech *

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

: ''Uśmiech Pana Boga. Wiersze dla dzieci'' ("The Smile of God. Poems for children"), Warsaw: Nasza Księgarnia *

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

: ''Kasztan dla milionera. Wiersze dla dzieci'' ("A Chestnut For a Millionaire. Poems for Children"), Warsaw: Nasza Księgarnia *

: ''Krzyżyk na drogę'' ("A cross for the road"), Kraków: Znak *

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

: ''Rwane prosto z krzaka'' ("Torn Right Off the Bush"), Warsaw: PIW *

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

: ''Bóg prosi o miłość - Gott fleht um Liebe'' ("God Asks for Love"), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literary *

: ''Niebo w dobrym humorze'' ("Heaven in Good Mood"), Warsaw: PIW *

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

: ''Miłość miłości szuka'', Volumes 1 and 2 ("Love Seeks Love"), Warsaw: PIW, Księgarnia i Drukarnia Świętego Wojciecha *

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

: ''Elementarz księdza Twardowskiego dla najmłodszego, średniaka i starszego'', Kraków: Wydawnictwo literackie *

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

: ''Kiedy mówisz'' ("When You Say"), Kraków: Wydawnictwo literackie *

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

: ''Kilka myśli o cierpieniu, przemijaniu i odejściu'', Poznan: Księgarnia Św. Wojciecha ("A few thoughts about suffering, passing and leaving") Prose: *

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

: ''Zeszyt w kratkę'' ("The Graph-Paper Notebook"), Kraków: Znak * 1986: ''Nowy zeszyt w kratkę'' ("The New Graph-Paper Notebook"), Poznan: Pallotinum *

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

: ''Patyki i patyczki'' ("Sticks and Twigs"), Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Archidiecezji Warszawskiej "Publisher of the Archdiocese of Warsaw" *

: ''Niecodziennik'' ("Not Quite a Diary"), Kraków: Maszachaba

References

External links

* Group memory in the network Vkontakte - club18291564 (rus) {{DEFAULTSORT:Twardowski, Jan 1915 births 2006 deaths Polish male poets 20th-century Polish Roman Catholic priests Polish resistance members of World War II Warsaw Uprising insurgents Catholic poets 20th-century Polish poets 20th-century Polish male writers 21st-century Polish poets 21st-century Polish male writers Writers from Warsaw